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1996–97 NBA season
The 1996–97 NBA season was the 51st season of the National Basketball Association. The league used this season to mark its 50th anniversary, which included the unveiling of the league's list of its 50 greatest players. This particular year marked the debut of Allen Iverson, Ray Allen, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, and Jermaine O'Neal. The season ended with the Chicago Bulls defeating the Utah Jazz 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals to win the franchise's 5th championship. Notable occurrences *The Chicago Bulls narrowly missed back-to-back 70 win seasons, going 69-13, tying the second best all-time record (with the 1971–72 Los Angeles Lakers season). In the final game of the regular season, the Bulls lost to the Knicks 103-101 as Scottie Pippen missed a three-pointer that would have given the Bulls back-to-back 70 win seasons. This loss also prevented the Bulls from tying the best home record of 40-1, set by the '85-'86 Boston Celtics, finishing 39-2 at the United Center. *The 1997 NBA All-Star Game was played at Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, with the East defeating the West 132-120. Glen Rice of the Charlotte Hornets was named the game's MVP. *The Philadelphia 76ers played their first game at the Core States Center' (later First Union Center, now Wachovia Center). *Allen Iverson set a rookie record scoring with 40 points or more in 5 straight games. *Due to extensive renovations at Oakland Arena, the Golden State Warriors played their home games at the San Jose Arena (now known as the HP Pavilion at San Jose, home of the NHL's San Jose Sharks). *Dennis Rodman was suspended for 11 games after kicking a cameraman in a road game against the Minnesota Timberwolves after tripping over him. *Following a last-second three-point shot by John Stockton in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals, the Utah Jazz made their first ever NBA Finals appearance. *In Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Lakers, Karl Malone hit all 18 of his free-throw attempts, setting a playoff record for most attempts without a miss, since broken by Paul Pierce. *After seven seasons of futility, the Minnesota Timberwolves finally made a postseason appearance, becoming the last of the late-1980s expansion teams to do so. In addition, their expansion counterparts (Miami, Orlando, and Charlotte) also made the playoffs. *The Atlanta Hawks played their final season at The Omni Coliseum. *The season marked the 50th anniversary of the NBA. To commemorate the occasion, some NBA teams wore throwback uniforms, the NBA logo was decorated in gold for all uniforms, and the 50th anniversary logo patch was featured in the warmups. In addition, the NBA also unveiled the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History during halftime of the 1997 NBA All-Star Game. Final standings Eastern Conference | valign="top" width="50%"| |} Western Conference | valign="top" width="50%"| |} C''' - NBA Champions Statistics leaders NBA awards Yearly awards *'''Most Valuable Player: Karl Malone, Utah Jazz *'Rookie of the Year:' Allen Iverson, Philadelphia 76ers *'Defensive Player of the Year:' Dikembe Mutombo, Atlanta Hawks *'Sixth Man of the Year:' John Starks, New York Knicks *'Most Improved Player:' Isaac Austin, Miami Heat *'Coach of the Year:' Pat Riley, Miami Heat *'All-NBA First Team:' **F - Karl Malone, Utah Jazz **F - Grant Hill, Detroit Pistons **C - Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets **G - Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls **G - Tim Hardaway, Miami Heat *'All-NBA Second Team:' **F Scottie Pippen, Chicago Bulls **F Glen Rice, Charlotte Hornets **C Patrick Ewing, New York Knicks **G Gary Payton, Seattle SuperSonics **G Mitch Richmond, Sacramento Kings *'All-NBA Third Team:' **F Anthony Mason, Charlotte Hornets **F Vin Baker, Milwaukee Bucks **C Shaquille O'Neal, Los Angeles Lakers **G John Stockton, Utah Jazz **G Anfernee Hardaway, Orlando Magic *'NBA All-Defensive First Team:' **F Scottie Pippen, Chicago Bulls **F Karl Malone, Utah Jazz **C Dikembe Mutombo, Atlanta Hawks **G Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls **G Gary Payton, Seattle SuperSonics *'NBA All-Defensive Second Team:' **F Anthony Mason, Charlotte Hornets **F P.J. Brown, Miami Heat **C Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets **G Mookie Blaylock, Atlanta Hawks **G John Stockton, Utah Jazz *'All-NBA Rookie First Team:' **Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Vancouver Grizzlies **Allen Iverson, Philadelphia 76ers **Stephon Marbury, Minnesota Timberwolves **Marcus Camby, Toronto Raptors **Antoine Walker, Boston Celtics *'All-NBA Rookie Second Team:' **Kerry Kittles, New Jersey Nets **Ray Allen, Milwaukee Bucks **Travis Knight, Los Angeles Lakers **Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers **Matt Maloney, Houston Rockets '' '' Player of the week The following players were named NBA Player of the Week. Player of the month The following players were named NBA Player of the Month. Rookie of the month The following players were named NBA Rookie of the Month. Coach of the month The following coaches were named NBA Coach of the Month. Category:NBA season